


Icarus

by Marvelgirl1701



Series: Zutara Week 2017 [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Plot Bunnies - Freeform, Set before the Southern Raiders, So Katara is pretty salty still, Zutara Week 2017, not really romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-12-07 12:50:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11623902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marvelgirl1701/pseuds/Marvelgirl1701
Summary: Zuko and Katara both find they know different tales of the same man, Icarus. What can they learn from the winged man?Zutara Week Day Four: Icarus





	Icarus

**Author's Note:**

> I really had a little trouble figuring out what to write about this and still am not 100% happy with it. But, I didn't want to miss another day, so hope you enjoy what I came up with!

They all gather around the campfire, huddling around each other to maintain warmth in the windy Western Air Temple. The glow of the fire paints odd shadows on the children’s faces, making them appear years older than they actually were. Perhaps, they were older than their years. Facing war makes any child grow up much quicker. 

The adults of the group, Hakoda and Chit Sang, had already called an early night, more early birds instead of night owls, leaving the kids alone by the fire. Sokka holds an arm around Suki, pulling her closer as the wind blows stronger. Toph sits beside Sokka, picking nonchalantly at her toes. Zuko winces next to her as she flicks the dirt into the fire before concentrating on trying to spread his inner fire to the others. The Duke huddles closer to the firebender as Haru sighs, rotating two rocks around themselves, thinking. Teo holds his tired head up with a hand. Aang sits close-legged, staring deep into the fire as if trying to find its meeting. And finally Katara sits down beside the Avatar, after putting away the clean dishes from their dinner. Only the whistling of the wind and cracking of the fire fills the night air. Katara shivers, moving closer to the fire.

Toph is the first to break the silence.

“Okay, guys, I’m bored!” she begins with a sniff.

Haru shrugs nonchalantly.

“So?”

He effectively blocks the first rock sent flying to his head, but isn’t able to sense the rock that hits his butt. Haru winces.

Toph points to Zuko, finger nearly poking his nose. 

“Tell me a story.”

Zuko raises his eyebrow.

“Why me?” he rasps.

“Yeah, why him?” Katara mimics sourly. “He can hardly remember a joke, let alone a story.”

The group collectively sighs at Katara’s antics. She had been at the insults for days. Zuko let’s her words roll off of him as if they were never spoken.

“Well, if you really want to hear one Toph, I do know one about Icarus.”

The two water tribe siblings perk up in interest.

“You know the tale of Icarus?” Sokka asks, surprised.

Zuko’s single eyebrow furrows.

“Of course I do. It is a Fire Nation fable.”

Katara laughs, not of joy, but instead, malicious intent.

“Please, it is from the Water Tribes!” she corrects.

“And I don’t care where it’s from,” Toph replies.

She lightly punches Zuko’s arm.

“Continue Sparky.”

He nods, his mind wandering back to memories of his mother.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_ “Once upon a time,” his mother began as Zuko burrowed further in the red satin covers. “There was a man named Icarus. He was a man of fire, much like you.”  _

_ Zuko grins as his mother uses a free hand not clutching the old scroll to ruffle his silky, dark hait. _

_ “But unlike you, my son, he was foolish. He was imprisoned by the people of the earth for his gift he had shown them, ignorant of the discrimination against his kind. And he spent many years trapped within the stone prison, one that bragged to be impenetrable. No one had ever escaped before and the soldiers of earth planned to keep it that way.” _

_ Zuko frowns. _

_ “I don’t like the beginning of this story,” he whines, little pale arms crossed around his chest. _

_ “Hush, child,” his mother says kindly. “Do not judge before the story is done. It would be dishonorable to the tale.” _

_ Zuko nods. _

_ “So Iratus, the man of fire, was cunning. He did not spend the years in prison doing nothing, for Agni blessed him. The fire god sent chicken-hawks by his window every day at noon. So, Icarus studied the chicken-hawks from his window. Every day, at mid-noon when the sun was at its highest, he would try to mimic their wings flutters with his own fire and every day, he failed. The fire was not strong enough, or too strong, burned too hot or too cool. Finally, after years of experimenting and failing, all behind his captors backs, he learned the secret. He had made his wings of fire to fly. Agni gave his fire child words of warning, to stay near him in the sun.” _

_ Zuko shifts closer to his mother, staring intently at her. _

_ “And then what happened?” _

_ “Then Icarus escaped. He blasted a powerful blast of fire mid-noon, melting even the strongest stone and used his fire wings to fly into the sky.” _

_ “I liked that story,” Zuko smiles, content. _

_ His mother clicks her tongue. _

_ “But, it is not yet over, my boy. For Icarus, fueled by his victory, was rash with his decisions. He flew high up in the air, gathering his strength from the sun, but soon became mesmerized by the sea below him. He had never seen the ocean before. And so, he ignored Agni’s warning and began to fly closer and closer to the sea. Icarus foolishly held his hand out into the ocean and the spray hit his wings, causing them to turn into steam. He fell into the sea where the ocean claimed him for the rest of eternity.” _

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Those around the campfire are momentarily silent as Zuko finishes his tale.

“I didn’t really like it,” the Duke murmurs, huddling a little closer to the firebender.

Zuko frowns apologetically.

“I didn’t like it either as a kid, but my mother told me that it gave a valuable lesson-”

“You didn’t like it Duke because it was wrong,” Katara interrupts.

“It’s  _ the _ Duke!” the child protests and the fire prince beside him narrows his eyes.

“What do you mean wrong?” he says levelly, trying to keep his temper in check.

“For one thing, Icarus was a  _ waterbender _ ,” Katara says indignantly, turning up her nose at Zuko from across the fire.

“How would that even make sense,” Zuko says slowly, as if explaining himself to a child. “He needed his wings of fire to  _ fly _ .”

“Not when you can have wings of water! You remember right Sokka?” Katara crosses her arms, blue eyes boring into her brother’s, challenging him to say no.

Sokka puts his hands up in surrender.

“To be fair, I was always fast asleep when mom told stories, so I don’t really remember whether or not he bent fire or water.”

Never one to lose an argument, Katara’s eyes scan the group, her mind trapped in the past. 

“Then I’ll tell you the true tale of Icarus.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_ “Once upon a time,” her mother begins, smoothing the soft animal pelt over her daughter. _

_ Katara gives a toothy grin, excited to hear another story. She clutches the pelt in anticipation, the soft fur tickling her fingers. _

_ “There was a warrior by the name of Icarus. He was strong water tribe’s man like your father and a talented waterbender like you,” her mother pokes her gently on the nose. _

_ Katara giggles. _

_ “He was so powerful that the people that visited from the Earth Kingdom became jealous, so they took him from his home and imprisoned him far from his icy homeland in a strange place where snow never falls and instead rock and stone cover the earth.” _

_ “Like what the Fire Nation does with the other waterbenders, mama?” Katara asks with wide blue eyes. _

_ Her mother looks away for a moment, eyes sad. Busying herself with placing a pelt over Sokka’s sleeping form, she finally turns back to her daughter, a small smile across her face to reassure Katara, though even as a young child, Katara could see the dimness of her mother’s eyes and tired lines of her face that betray her true feelings. _

_ “Yes,” she says simply. “But Icarus was more than just a waterbender. He was a master. No cage, no matter how solid the rock, could keep him contained for long. They gave him no water to drink, only small amounts in berries they fed him and even then, his limbs had to be bound. But, Tui and La was always there for Icarus, as they are there for you, young one. On the full moon, when his waterbending was at it’s full strength, they granted him wings of water stolen from the sea.” _

_ Katara’s eyes and mouth widen in wonder, imagining a flying man with wings of water. _

_ “He broke through the stone prison and flew all night until he reached the sea. He darted in the air like a fish. The sky was his ocean to roam and he was finally free. But, soon, the day came and the sun conquered the moon in the sky. Icarus did not see any threat from the ball of fire. If anything, he felt drawn to it. The rays warmed his body so gently for the night before was cold and he began to fly higher and higher, to try and touch the golden sun,” her mother bows her head.  _

_ “Tui and La tried to warn him, tried to call him back to sea, but he flew so high that his wings and him burned away in a flash of light. Agni cared not for the child of water. Remember child, fly too close to the sun and you will only get burned.” _

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“I didn’t like that one either,” the Duke mutters to himself and Haru puts a reassuring hand on the small child.

“Well, I think it was better than the lie Zuko told,” Katara sniffs indigantly.

Zuko feels his temper flare and though he keeps his voice level, his fiery eyes and growing intensity of the camp fire show his anger.

“It was no lie, Katara. My mother told me the story many times as a child.”

“Well then your mother is a liar!” Katara fires back.

Zuko’s eyes narrow dangerously.

“Don’t,” he growls.

The tension makes the air thick and unbearable. The firebender and waterbender stare each other down while the rest of the group shifts in their seats, clearly uncomfortable. Even Toph is at a loss at what to say. Finally, the Avatar, a boy used to being the bridge between spirits and man, speaks, trying to act as a bridge between enemies.

“As much as I hate to say it, you guys are both wrong.”

Katara snaps her head towards Aang’s direction, glaring menacingly as Zuko scowls at him. Aang gulps, but does not lose courage.

“The monks had extensive records of the past to learn from history and one of these records was of Icarus. He was no fable, but instead, a real man. Don’t you think it strange that he could fly with wings of fire or water?”

“It’s not physically possible!” Sokka interjects, earning a glare from Katara. “What, it’s true.”

He just shrugs, jostling Suki’s head from his shoulder, causing the half-asleep warrior to become alert once more.

“Sokka’s right. It isn’t possible to fly with fire or water wings. But it is possible to fly as an  _ airbender _ . Icarus was in prison by the Earth Kingdom, though the reason why is unknown. But as a nomad, he knew he couldn’t stay trapped there the rest of his life. So every day, when the chicken-hawks passed his window, he would steal a feather from its body. Every day he did this for years until he gathered up enough. A guard was kind enough to lend him a candle to read scrolls with, so he took the melted way and used it to hold the feathers together when it hardened. He had made himself wings. He made his escape on a full moon to keep the wax from melting. But soon the morning came.”

“This is where the sun kills Icarus!” Katara says triumphantly.

“No, this is where the ocean kills him!” Zuko replies with a smirk.

Aang holds up a hand and the two miraculously still, greatly anticipating his answer to settle their argument.

“When the morning came, Icarus, arrogant with his newfound freedom, flew high in the sky towards the sun, causing his wings to melt away.”

“Ha!” Katara laughs humorless, pointing a finger in Zuko’s direction.

“But it was the ocean that ended up taking his life when he fell into it.”

Katara’s grin turns into a frown as Zuko points back in Katara’s direction, mimicking her. Aang just sighs.

“All these trivial details don’t truly matter, but the lesson learned in the end does. It shows that arrogance can lead to foolishness, that ignorance leads to imprisonment of the mind and body. Most importantly, the tale shows the capability of great danger both fire and water possess. It’s what you  _ choose _ to do with your element, good or evil, that makes up who you are.”

The Avatar very obviously stares at his feuding companions. Zuko holds his tongue, bowing his head in understanding, but Katara feels the need to just get one last word in.

“Well, at least my Icarus wasn’t stupid. He didn’t know that the sun would evaporate his water, but everyone knows the water defeats fire.”

Zuko just looks up at her, gold meeting blue and does something unexpected. He smiles, a small sad thing that makes a tinge of guilt grow in Katara’s heart.

“He found the sea so beautiful that he was willing to face her dangers,” he murmurs softly, looking deep within Katara’s eyes. “Fire and water may be destined to destroy each other, but that doesn’t stop them from meeting. It makes the time spent between them even sweeter, even more precious. And sometimes, together, creation may stem from their destruction, rising as steam capable of more than the limits of imagination.”

With that, he leaves the campfire, finding his spot to rest, leaving Katara to ponder at his words and for a moment, she wonders why they must be enemies at all. For a moment, her heart flutters, remembering his soft expression and golden eyes, not hidden by his angry scar. For a moment, she ponders Icarus, wanting to touch the sun herself and hope not to burn.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :)


End file.
